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I'm trying to keep the weight as low as possible, without starving myself! I need food for Saturday night, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday (maybe a small snack for Thursday breakfast)
So far, Saturday is easy as weight isn't an issue. The rest of the week is as follows:
Breakfast - Boil in a bag (All day breakfasts)
Lunch - 3 Elevenses bars, 2 flapjacks (I'm worried this might get boring, but I'm struggling with alternatives!)
Tea - Dehydrated Food (Mixture of Trek n Eat and Supernoodles)
Snack - Dried Soup, Hot Chocolate
I'd appreciate any suggestions, especially with regards to lunchtime. I've just bought a packet of crackers, but I have no idead what I could put on them!
Mike
So far, Saturday is easy as weight isn't an issue. The rest of the week is as follows:
Breakfast - Boil in a bag (All day breakfasts)
Lunch - 3 Elevenses bars, 2 flapjacks (I'm worried this might get boring, but I'm struggling with alternatives!)
Tea - Dehydrated Food (Mixture of Trek n Eat and Supernoodles)
Snack - Dried Soup, Hot Chocolate
I'd appreciate any suggestions, especially with regards to lunchtime. I've just bought a packet of crackers, but I have no idead what I could put on them!
Mike
In reply to Mike Nolan:
hummous! it'll keep for a day or two in ya bag and seems to give me plenty of energy.
nuts and dried fruit - obvious but plenty of energy in them
I don't eat meat but plenty of friends swear by jerky
hummous! it'll keep for a day or two in ya bag and seems to give me plenty of energy.
nuts and dried fruit - obvious but plenty of energy in them
I don't eat meat but plenty of friends swear by jerky
In reply to Mike Nolan:
When I'm carrying all my food, I always end up with cravings for meat and chocolate. Pepperami is always appreciated - light, doesn't need to be kept cold and really adds something to your dehydrated noodles/cous cous/pasta etc. In cooler months I'll always take chocolate, but in hot months I'll probably take some biscuits instead.
Lunches are always a pain to work out. A variety of bars and flapjacks are good, but quite heavy. I tend to take some rolls (prefilled at home) for the first couple of days. Nuts and dried fruit are good snacks too.
When I'm carrying all my food, I always end up with cravings for meat and chocolate. Pepperami is always appreciated - light, doesn't need to be kept cold and really adds something to your dehydrated noodles/cous cous/pasta etc. In cooler months I'll always take chocolate, but in hot months I'll probably take some biscuits instead.
Lunches are always a pain to work out. A variety of bars and flapjacks are good, but quite heavy. I tend to take some rolls (prefilled at home) for the first couple of days. Nuts and dried fruit are good snacks too.
In reply to Mike Nolan:
I forgot to say - aren't those boil-in-the-bag breakfasts quite heavy? I tend to go for porridge or muesli with milk powder and extra dried fruit, and possibly a few breakfast bars.
I forgot to say - aren't those boil-in-the-bag breakfasts quite heavy? I tend to go for porridge or muesli with milk powder and extra dried fruit, and possibly a few breakfast bars.
In reply to Monk: Very heavy, they're 300g each, but I won't have time to get a trangia out in the morning to do porridge and I don't think cereal bars will be enough on their own.
Mike
Mike
In reply to Mike Nolan: Pepperami, beef jerky, that south african stuff of a different style.
Make my own porridge with dried milk and suger and then bag it in those bags for veg at Tescos. That keeps the weight down.
Flapjack is pretty heavy. I take Oat Cakes instead, cheesy ones or ones with chilli in them. Dip them in a dried soup and then you don't need to put anything on them. Asda do bags of dehydrated vegetables and onion, can be handy to add to soups and noodles.
I always carry peanuts - heavy but keep me going.
Usually bag each days food seperate, then if you feel hungry after the last food of the day, you know you've got a good bag of grub for tomorrow.
Have fun.
Make my own porridge with dried milk and suger and then bag it in those bags for veg at Tescos. That keeps the weight down.
Flapjack is pretty heavy. I take Oat Cakes instead, cheesy ones or ones with chilli in them. Dip them in a dried soup and then you don't need to put anything on them. Asda do bags of dehydrated vegetables and onion, can be handy to add to soups and noodles.
I always carry peanuts - heavy but keep me going.
Usually bag each days food seperate, then if you feel hungry after the last food of the day, you know you've got a good bag of grub for tomorrow.
Have fun.
In reply to Mike Nolan: The porridge thing - I take one pour & store bag, put the mornings mix of porridge in it, add hot water. Then put it in a thermowrap homemade envelope for a while. The odd stir and it sorts itself. You'll be boiling water anyway, this way you could save over a kilo.
In reply to Mike Nolan:
I usually take a big bag of mixed salted peanuts, raisins and smarties/M&Ms just to pick at through the day.
For lunch, make up some sandwiches for the first day or two...as long as you don't put anything with too short a half-life in and wrap them well, they'll keep fine. After that, your favourite variety of cracker, cheese (a lot of people use Babybel or squeezy cheese...I find a small block of whatever you fancy and a penknife works just as well), maybe some ham or hummous. The crackers will get broken but it tastes the same.
I also find I miss fresh stuff when I do this sort of thing. I take apples or oranges for the first couple of days (take wet wipes or something if you have oranges!) and then carrots. Carrots last well, can be cut up into sticks with hummous or just munched on.
Malt Loaf can be great...relatively heavy but high energy and good for a snack.
I usually take a big bag of mixed salted peanuts, raisins and smarties/M&Ms just to pick at through the day.
For lunch, make up some sandwiches for the first day or two...as long as you don't put anything with too short a half-life in and wrap them well, they'll keep fine. After that, your favourite variety of cracker, cheese (a lot of people use Babybel or squeezy cheese...I find a small block of whatever you fancy and a penknife works just as well), maybe some ham or hummous. The crackers will get broken but it tastes the same.
I also find I miss fresh stuff when I do this sort of thing. I take apples or oranges for the first couple of days (take wet wipes or something if you have oranges!) and then carrots. Carrots last well, can be cut up into sticks with hummous or just munched on.
Malt Loaf can be great...relatively heavy but high energy and good for a snack.
In reply to Mike Nolan: Cheese spread in a tube will keep ok for a few days to put on crackers, or pitta bread for lunches.
Pasta in sauce is an alternative to super noodles.
Tuna in sachets is lighter than tins.
Nuts and dried fruit can be good to snack on.
You seem to have missed out chocolate bars!
Are you going near any shops at any point, it might be worth restocking part way through if you are near a village somewhere.
Pasta in sauce is an alternative to super noodles.
Tuna in sachets is lighter than tins.
Nuts and dried fruit can be good to snack on.
You seem to have missed out chocolate bars!
Are you going near any shops at any point, it might be worth restocking part way through if you are near a village somewhere.
In reply to Mike Nolan: Lunch: squeezy cheese tubes, veggy pate in a squeezy tube (get them from a health food shoppe?), german style dense rye bread, oatcakes, big ziplock bag of home made trail mix (peanuts, raisins, choc chips, chopped dates and dried apricots, more nuts and seeds etc), big chunks of chorizo chewed straight off the sausage
In reply to Mike Nolan:
Carry a bit of extra weight and take some fresh fruit - stuff in skins like oranges. Food in tins can be emptied out into a plastic bag and then consolidated into a plastic butty box. Even the odd tin & a bit of booze, unless it's a race or some kind of training, its nicer to enjoy yourself without gustatory tedium. At least 3 kinds of cheese normally helps.
Regards
D
Carry a bit of extra weight and take some fresh fruit - stuff in skins like oranges. Food in tins can be emptied out into a plastic bag and then consolidated into a plastic butty box. Even the odd tin & a bit of booze, unless it's a race or some kind of training, its nicer to enjoy yourself without gustatory tedium. At least 3 kinds of cheese normally helps.
Regards
D
Thanks everyone so far! I'm off shopping tomorrow!
In reply to marsbar:
>Are you going near any shops at any point
Don't even go there! It's actually for D of E and we need to be 'self sufficient'. Even though, any other time, you would go into a shop!
In reply to marsbar:
>Are you going near any shops at any point
Don't even go there! It's actually for D of E and we need to be 'self sufficient'. Even though, any other time, you would go into a shop!
In reply to Mike Nolan:
nuts and berries.
highest calorific content and no need to cook. you can leave the stove at home, even lighter.
nuts and berries.
highest calorific content and no need to cook. you can leave the stove at home, even lighter.
In reply to Mike Nolan: Ah sorry. How annoying!
In reply to Mike Nolan: Here're a few things I eat on multi-day trips in the mountains:
Breakfast - chewey bar and banana, or instant porridge/readybrek in instant custard. Coffee.
Lunch - Oat cakes and dairylee/smoked processed cheese/primula. Lidl's spicy peperami type things (called Debrecziner by Alpengut) (very tasty), pringles, chewey bar, banana, apple
Dinner - 1st night - pre-made pizza (eat it cold) instant custard for pudding (7p sachets in Morrisons). 2nd night - pre-chopped onion/garlic/tomato puree/herbs plus spicy sausage and pasta. Polish food shops sell very tasty fast-boil 3 minute pasta in thin short strips. 3rd night - Same as 2nd night, or instant curry with added curry paste and chilli, plus naan bread (still haven't found decent fast boil rice). 4th night - Lidl's tinned salmon in parsley sauce/tuna with polish pasta.
Other essentials - Whisky, Kendal Mint Cake, Highjuice cordial to mix with water. This last one is heavy but I find it essential for my enjoyment in the mountains (plain water just doesn't do it for me).
Every gram you save using lightweight gear, you can carry more food. So ditch the Trangia, get a titanium mug that you can put directly on the gas stove, plus a lightweight non-stick pan for cooking in.
Breakfast - chewey bar and banana, or instant porridge/readybrek in instant custard. Coffee.
Lunch - Oat cakes and dairylee/smoked processed cheese/primula. Lidl's spicy peperami type things (called Debrecziner by Alpengut) (very tasty), pringles, chewey bar, banana, apple
Dinner - 1st night - pre-made pizza (eat it cold) instant custard for pudding (7p sachets in Morrisons). 2nd night - pre-chopped onion/garlic/tomato puree/herbs plus spicy sausage and pasta. Polish food shops sell very tasty fast-boil 3 minute pasta in thin short strips. 3rd night - Same as 2nd night, or instant curry with added curry paste and chilli, plus naan bread (still haven't found decent fast boil rice). 4th night - Lidl's tinned salmon in parsley sauce/tuna with polish pasta.
Other essentials - Whisky, Kendal Mint Cake, Highjuice cordial to mix with water. This last one is heavy but I find it essential for my enjoyment in the mountains (plain water just doesn't do it for me).
Every gram you save using lightweight gear, you can carry more food. So ditch the Trangia, get a titanium mug that you can put directly on the gas stove, plus a lightweight non-stick pan for cooking in.
In reply to Jamie Hageman: The trangia is the first thing I woud ditch, but we are required to take one with it being D of E. Schoo issue the trangia and I think they would be very funny about us using something else.
In reply to Mike Nolan: DofE requires you to have one cooked meal a day but does not require it to be in/on a Trangia - other cookers are available and, for me at least, are lighter and easier to use.
Really good suggestions above but DofE has its' requirements (and an assessor) and it should be down to your personal dietary taste/needs. Also, as you will be in a group, check out what others like, foodwise, and pool resources. For info, stuff I've cooked/eaten/enjoyed ....
Breakfast
Instant porridge sachets decanted into poly bags with additional powdered milk and dried fruit and/or nuts of choice
Lunch
Before going, cook large pizza with many toppings, allow to cool, fold over, cut into slices of a suitable size and wrap in clingfilm - usually lasts for a couple of days
pitta breads/oatcakes with squeezy cheese (choice of flavours available) or even your choice of solid cheeses, peperami, chorizzo (this for the next couple of days)
Main meal
couscous/pasta/mash etc with cupasoups/pesto/pasta sauces etc for flavourings and added peperami/chorizzo/cheese etc for interest
Snacks
fresh fruit for first day or so, nuts/dried fruit/sweets in "trailmix", malt loaf, choccy bars etc
Extras - salt/pepper/sugar/sauce sachets from fast food places are ideal flavour enhancers as are small poly bags of curry/chilli/garlic powder, mixed herbs etc - for a full gourmet experience!
The idea is try and keep weight down so dehydrated stuff is ideal - as long as you can source water! Most of all ENJOY both the exped and the grub!
Apologies for the long ramble, but I likes me grub! Cheers, Col
Really good suggestions above but DofE has its' requirements (and an assessor) and it should be down to your personal dietary taste/needs. Also, as you will be in a group, check out what others like, foodwise, and pool resources. For info, stuff I've cooked/eaten/enjoyed ....
Breakfast
Instant porridge sachets decanted into poly bags with additional powdered milk and dried fruit and/or nuts of choice
Lunch
Before going, cook large pizza with many toppings, allow to cool, fold over, cut into slices of a suitable size and wrap in clingfilm - usually lasts for a couple of days
pitta breads/oatcakes with squeezy cheese (choice of flavours available) or even your choice of solid cheeses, peperami, chorizzo (this for the next couple of days)
Main meal
couscous/pasta/mash etc with cupasoups/pesto/pasta sauces etc for flavourings and added peperami/chorizzo/cheese etc for interest
Snacks
fresh fruit for first day or so, nuts/dried fruit/sweets in "trailmix", malt loaf, choccy bars etc
Extras - salt/pepper/sugar/sauce sachets from fast food places are ideal flavour enhancers as are small poly bags of curry/chilli/garlic powder, mixed herbs etc - for a full gourmet experience!
The idea is try and keep weight down so dehydrated stuff is ideal - as long as you can source water! Most of all ENJOY both the exped and the grub!
Apologies for the long ramble, but I likes me grub! Cheers, Col
In reply to Mike Nolan:
I've been doing a lot of multi day trips recently and keeping interest and calories up is important.
Breakfast- 100g museli ration with milk powder and chocolate raisins (choccy raisins help with the boredom, nice with hot water)
Lunch- oat cakes with primula, cereal bars, dried fruit/nuts
Snack- soup/hot choc
Tea- some sort of dried meal, I quite like travellunch from Reiter.
Instant custard with an elevenses chucked in it.
Extras are things like nuts- salted cashews and peanuts help with salt replacement/calories. Chocolate is nice.
I've been doing a lot of multi day trips recently and keeping interest and calories up is important.
Breakfast- 100g museli ration with milk powder and chocolate raisins (choccy raisins help with the boredom, nice with hot water)
Lunch- oat cakes with primula, cereal bars, dried fruit/nuts
Snack- soup/hot choc
Tea- some sort of dried meal, I quite like travellunch from Reiter.
Instant custard with an elevenses chucked in it.
Extras are things like nuts- salted cashews and peanuts help with salt replacement/calories. Chocolate is nice.
In reply to Jamie Hageman:
Then why not use a powdered drink? eg
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Foster-Clarks-Orange-Powder-Drink/dp/B00476RQGE
> Other essentials - Whisky, Kendal Mint Cake, Highjuice cordial to mix with water. This last one is heavy but I find it essential for my enjoyment in the mountains (plain water just doesn't do it for me).
Then why not use a powdered drink? eg
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Foster-Clarks-Orange-Powder-Drink/dp/B00476RQGE
In reply to tlm: Good suggestion, but I don't eat anything with artificial colours - they mess with my mind and always have done! Nearly all powdered drinks are full of E numbers. I cannot stress enough just how bad they are. I have found powdered drink with natural colours but have found it to be quite weak so that I have ended up carrying a tonne of the stuff.
What I now do is carry about half a litre of high-juice cordial that lasts me 3 days and then head back to the car/civilisation/stash-point to re-load!
What I now do is carry about half a litre of high-juice cordial that lasts me 3 days and then head back to the car/civilisation/stash-point to re-load!
In reply to Mike Nolan: Don't have much experience, but have been thinking through what to take for a possible Dartmoor expedition. Remember that the more cooking things take, the more fuel you'll need. Therefore I'd go for couscous over pasta or rice and oats for (water-based) porridge. That's two good quality sources of energy for each end of the day which only require boiling briefly and can be eaten uncooked if needed. They are also crush-proof so can be kept safely in your bag.
Hummus is also good for flavour and calories but quite heavy. I often take it on single day walks.
Dried fruit and seeds are fantastic for snacking on and quite tasty - I'd take plenty of those.
Chocolate is a proven favourite for polar expeditions - good for morale and very calorie dense.
Hummus is also good for flavour and calories but quite heavy. I often take it on single day walks.
Dried fruit and seeds are fantastic for snacking on and quite tasty - I'd take plenty of those.
Chocolate is a proven favourite for polar expeditions - good for morale and very calorie dense.
In reply to Mike Nolan: ive used expedition foods freeze dried 800kcal meals and they are spot on. light and packed with calories, they taste good too. if you can source water youre sorted with a few extra snack bars etc. look them up on the internet, you can only really carry a few days supply at a time though realistically.
In reply to Mike Nolan:
Five days of super noodles sounds grim. Take some fresh fruit, veg, spices, cooked meat , cheese etc and make it a bit more imaginative/exciting. DofE is not really an "every gram counts" type of trip, you can afford a few luxuries!
Fresh coffee and pain au chocolate/Aberdeen buttery for breakfast!
Iain
Five days of super noodles sounds grim. Take some fresh fruit, veg, spices, cooked meat , cheese etc and make it a bit more imaginative/exciting. DofE is not really an "every gram counts" type of trip, you can afford a few luxuries!
Fresh coffee and pain au chocolate/Aberdeen buttery for breakfast!
Iain
In reply to Mike Nolan:
definately some carrots & apples: you'll crave the crunch & 'freshness' after a few days.
dried 'bacon bits' (soya, actually) and dehydrated 'fried onions' brighten things up immensely. Tabasco?
take more teabags/coffee than you think: nothing batter than sitting about drinking tea.
pitta bread will keep for a couple of days, though heavy. ryvita can be used for lunch and crumbled into milk for breakfast, otherwise instant porridge.
a luxury item is a fantastic morale booster. pack of olives?
The pasta in sauce dehydtrated things are good for trips. we had to make do with vesta curries and beanfeast when i were a lad
definately some carrots & apples: you'll crave the crunch & 'freshness' after a few days.
dried 'bacon bits' (soya, actually) and dehydrated 'fried onions' brighten things up immensely. Tabasco?
take more teabags/coffee than you think: nothing batter than sitting about drinking tea.
pitta bread will keep for a couple of days, though heavy. ryvita can be used for lunch and crumbled into milk for breakfast, otherwise instant porridge.
a luxury item is a fantastic morale booster. pack of olives?
The pasta in sauce dehydtrated things are good for trips. we had to make do with vesta curries and beanfeast when i were a lad
In reply to IainMunro:
yes!! hot cross buns for breakfast/lunch at least one day!
if it is DoE, have a stash of veg/fruit for when you get back.
yes!! hot cross buns for breakfast/lunch at least one day!
if it is DoE, have a stash of veg/fruit for when you get back.
In reply to Mike Nolan:
Breakfast:
Porridge (premix with sultanas and milk powder)
Biscuits
Lunch:
Tortillas
Salami/chorizo/similar
Cheese
Evening meal:
Cous cous
Tin of fish or some salami/chorizo/similar
Tin of sweetcorn
Pesto
Miscellany:
Fruit (fresh or tin)
Chocolate
Boil in bags are good if they're free
Waste of space:
F*cking shit ceral bars that cost the earth and require you to eat 5 before you feel remotely satisfied
Cereal bars are crap
Don't waste your money on bloody cereal bars
Breakfast:
Porridge (premix with sultanas and milk powder)
Biscuits
Lunch:
Tortillas
Salami/chorizo/similar
Cheese
Evening meal:
Cous cous
Tin of fish or some salami/chorizo/similar
Tin of sweetcorn
Pesto
Miscellany:
Fruit (fresh or tin)
Chocolate
Boil in bags are good if they're free
Waste of space:
F*cking shit ceral bars that cost the earth and require you to eat 5 before you feel remotely satisfied
Cereal bars are crap
Don't waste your money on bloody cereal bars
In reply to Mike Nolan:
P.S. Make the effort to take tea/coffee. It may seem like an extravagance but after a few days you'll be bursting for a cuppa.
P.S. Make the effort to take tea/coffee. It may seem like an extravagance but after a few days you'll be bursting for a cuppa.
In reply to Mike Nolan:
lunch: cheese paste, yeast paste & crackers....or (and this is cunning) add hot water to a boil in the bag thing after you've made your morning brew , seal it up & eat it at lunch Even couscous would do!
Presumably you're tapering the mileage, so treat yourself to a cuppa at lunch on at least one day..it's a faff that you won't feel like, but immensely satisfying to be 'civilised' and do stuff that you don't absolutely have to do. Like dangling your feet in a stream
lunch: cheese paste, yeast paste & crackers....or (and this is cunning) add hot water to a boil in the bag thing after you've made your morning brew , seal it up & eat it at lunch Even couscous would do!
Presumably you're tapering the mileage, so treat yourself to a cuppa at lunch on at least one day..it's a faff that you won't feel like, but immensely satisfying to be 'civilised' and do stuff that you don't absolutely have to do. Like dangling your feet in a stream
In reply to Mike Nolan:
4 days of food is a pain and I remember it from my DofE days, you have my sympathy!
Don't bother cooking breakfast, cereal (muesli) with powdered milk pre mixed with the cereal will do you fine. Maybe add some raisins. We used to put haribo in ours too. Leave the boil in a bag breakfasts behind as 1.2kg of breakfast is a lot and you'll need less gas!
I'd suggest pitta bread and honey for lunches as they have loads of energy, don't get crushed and they don't go off. If you want meat take chorizo sausage or something like that. You can munch it for lunch and slice it to liven up pasta in the evenings.
Dinners are always tricky because people want something different every night. Cook rice in cup a soups to give a different flavour every night and then use packet sauces. For protein, take chorizo or those packets of tuna you can get now. We used to empty tins out into food bags but you don't need to now. Spaghetti is the best pasta to take because it packs down the smallest per 100g. Or macaroni because you need less per person in my experience. Rice is definitely the best but can get boring unless you mix it up with the cup-a-soups.
My favourites - sweet and sour tuna with rice, spaghetti with pasta sauce and chorizo.
Remember - eat the heaviest dinner first!
4 days of food is a pain and I remember it from my DofE days, you have my sympathy!
Don't bother cooking breakfast, cereal (muesli) with powdered milk pre mixed with the cereal will do you fine. Maybe add some raisins. We used to put haribo in ours too. Leave the boil in a bag breakfasts behind as 1.2kg of breakfast is a lot and you'll need less gas!
I'd suggest pitta bread and honey for lunches as they have loads of energy, don't get crushed and they don't go off. If you want meat take chorizo sausage or something like that. You can munch it for lunch and slice it to liven up pasta in the evenings.
Dinners are always tricky because people want something different every night. Cook rice in cup a soups to give a different flavour every night and then use packet sauces. For protein, take chorizo or those packets of tuna you can get now. We used to empty tins out into food bags but you don't need to now. Spaghetti is the best pasta to take because it packs down the smallest per 100g. Or macaroni because you need less per person in my experience. Rice is definitely the best but can get boring unless you mix it up with the cup-a-soups.
My favourites - sweet and sour tuna with rice, spaghetti with pasta sauce and chorizo.
Remember - eat the heaviest dinner first!
In reply to Mike Nolan: microwave rice cooks quickly in boiling water, but is heavy. Sharwoods do plastic pounches of bombay potatoes, spinach that are excellent and you can eat cold.
In reply to Mike Nolan:
I find pitta bread pretty good for lunch. Take squeezy cheese or squeezy mushroom pate or something else non-perishable to squeeze onto it.
I know a few people who take smash for dinner, and mix it with tuna / spices / veg / chorizo.
Pepperami are good because they're light, savoury, and they last.
I find pitta bread pretty good for lunch. Take squeezy cheese or squeezy mushroom pate or something else non-perishable to squeeze onto it.
I know a few people who take smash for dinner, and mix it with tuna / spices / veg / chorizo.
Pepperami are good because they're light, savoury, and they last.
In reply to Mike Nolan:
For Breakfast I get Dehydrated Scrambled Eggs with ham made from mountain house sent from America.
Also another Fav for americans is Macoroni and Cheese. or take a tortila wrap heat the bottom add some cheese, ham & Veg. Then another wrap put on top flip it and enjoy. It is nice and as you will have a trangia you have the frying pan to do it
For Breakfast I get Dehydrated Scrambled Eggs with ham made from mountain house sent from America.
Also another Fav for americans is Macoroni and Cheese. or take a tortila wrap heat the bottom add some cheese, ham & Veg. Then another wrap put on top flip it and enjoy. It is nice and as you will have a trangia you have the frying pan to do it
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